A PLACE, A STORY / Zhangjiajie
Wulingyuan
Sandstone pillars rise from a deeply cut landscape. Wulingyuan’s wooded peaks turn distance into overlapping layers of stone, green and sky.
© chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons. Resized and JPEG compressed. · Original source · License
© chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons. Resized and JPEG compressed. · Original source · License
Wulingyuan is known for thousands of quartz sandstone pillars and peaks, with ravines, streams and forest between them. Its World Heritage landscape includes striking changes of scale: a single tall column, a narrow valley and a whole horizon of rock. The shapes reward both wide views and close attention.
Choose one pillar in a photograph and trace its outline. Then step back mentally and see how it joins the surrounding formations into a much larger scene.
Editorial sources
- UNESCO · Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area
- Hunan government · Tianmen Mountain
- Hunan government · Tianmen Cave and Zhangjiajie
Editorial review:
Before travelling, check current access, opening times and entry requirements with the relevant official sources.
